1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a input devices operated from a light beam with automatic ambient light compensation to allow use outside in direct sunlight and inside with varying light conditions, or underwater for keyboard input, directional input and cursor positioning to input to dedicated board level microprocessor driven control systems, personal computers (PC), control panels for operating equipment, control panels for partial quadriplegics to operate a wheelchair and computers, and for other non-contact computer input devices where a light beam is pointed at a position and the function of that position is output to a host, e.g. keyboard characters, data related to symbols, and arrows related to directional input.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Touch screens with a virtual keyboard input into computers have been used for many years. Some have a limited number of keys and some have a virtual qwerty keyboard displayed but needs an operator that can move their arms and fingers to touch the screen, it lacks portability, must use the computers display and processing power, and in it's present form cannot be anticipated mounted to an arm of a wheelchair or used underwater where a user cannot touch the device for input.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,533 Rhoades shows a keyboard operated by a light beam either on a table or mounted to a wheelchair with a manual potentiometer that adjusts one fixed threshold reference for all light detectors.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,373 Jakobs shows a keyboard operated by a light beam for desktop use that uses a frequency emitted light beam to filter out background electronic noise.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,770,864 Yan shows an optical input apparatus that uses a specific photodiode to validate other photodiodes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,563 Hutchinson shows an eye invasive light activated virtual keyboard displayed on a computer monitor where a light beam, is received into the eye and then reflected to a monitor to select keys on the displayed virtual keyboard. This beam cannot be projected from a distance so the beam from emittance to monitor detection must be in very close proximity to the monitor emitting the beam. The apparatus needs separate optics hardware, lacks portability, needs to be in close proximity to computer and computer monitor, the price is high, needs to use the host computer for processing power, and in it's present form cannot be anticipated or obvious how such a device of this size would be mounted to an arm of a wheelchair, used underwater, or outside in direct sunlight.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,907 Foster and U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,052 Raviv et al shows a monitor as an output device emitting a beam being monitored by a photo sensor in a pen like device that must be in very close proximity to the monitor emitting the beam, and then through the computers processing power determines where the monitor output is detected, and in it's present form cannot be anticipated or obvious how such a device of this size would be mounted to an arm of a wheelchair or used underwater, or outside in direct sunlight.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,378,069, 5,577,848, 5,605,406, 5,707,160, 5,785,439, Bowen show a keyboard that detects an operators finger optically.
Another technology to aid partial quadriplegics in using a computer is very simple in concept but is being used are mouth sticks to depress keys on a keyboard, and head sticks to depress keys on a keyboard and to control wheelchairs. Where a stick is placed in a person's mouth or attached to the head and by using head movement the stick is positioned on an input position.
Still another technology to aid partial quadriplegics in using a computer is a head tracking software and hardware device that watches changes in head movement to position a cursor on a monitor.
Still another technology to aid partial quadriplegics in using a computer is voice recognition but has limits to being portable in as much as to be effective it has to be thought to a user's pronunciation making it computer specific.